Machine for assembling roller bearings



Sept. 9, 1941. ORTEGREN ET AL 2,255,626

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Original Filed Dec. 8, 1937 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 WWW H. A. ORTEGREN ET AL 2,255,626

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Sept. 9, 1941.

Original Filed Dec. 10 Sheets-Sheet 4 Sept. 9, 1941. H. A. ORTEGREN ET AL MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Original Filed Dec. 8, 1937 lO Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 9, 1941. H. A. ORTEGREN ET AL 2,255,626

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Ori gi nal Filed Dec. 8, 1937 10 Sheets-Sheet 6 ll J l iil fryy/Z 0r/yne/ Qar/af 154mm 55 26 INVEN OR Sept. 9,-1941. H A, ORTEGREN ET AL 2,255,626

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLINQ ROLLER BEARINGS Original Filed Dec. 8, 1937 10 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTO s ;-\TTORNEY5 Sept. 9, 1941. H. A. ORTEGREN :1- AL 2,255,526 MACHINE FOR. ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Original F iled Dec. 8, 1937 10 Sheets-Sheei 8 v 9 W 3 a A W Sept. 1941- H. A. ORTEGREN AL 2,255,626

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Original Filed Dec. 8, 1937 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 "121 If i 122 1 109 6% 1110 64 1224' 112 12 125 113 .124" 12% 15 1 1-215; 116 91 111 2+; I 26 1 51 $15 111714 Y n ii 11.1%; x gm I 8 {g9 I 119 INVENTO S Sept. 9, 1941. H. A. ORTEGREN ET AL. 2,255,526

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Original Filed Dec. 8, 1957 4 l0 Sheets-Sheet 10 we if/p6, NVE'ORS ATTORNEYS the machine, into position to receive each Patented Sept. 9, 1941 MACHINE FOR AS sr i i igr mo'nonma BEAR- Herman A. Ortegren and Charles 0. Howenstine,

Detroit, Mich., assignors to Bower Roller Bearing Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Original application December 8, 1937, Serial No.

1940, Serial N0. 332,3

Claims. (CI. 29 84) This invention relates to means for use inthe assembling of the parts of bearing structures and more particularly to a machine for assembling the rolls and cages of roller bearings, this being a division of our co-pending application, Ser. No. 178,784, filed Dec. 8, 1937, and entitled Machine for assembling roller bearings,

now Patent No. 2,235,084, dated March 8, 1941.

An object of the present invention is to provide a machine for automatically handling and assembling the separate pre-formed parts of roller hearings in the commercial production of such bearings, and, further, to provide the machine with means for automatically feeding rolls from a hopper or other supply of loose rolls and properly positioning a series of these rolls within each roll cage of a series of cages successively and automatically brought, in the operation 0;

0 such series of rolls.

Another object is to provide a new and improved roller bearing assembling machine which automatically handles the rollers for the bearing units and operatively unites said rollers and'the' cages therefor more easily, efficiently and accurately, and for greater permanence, than hereproved roller bearing assembling machine which is faultlessly operable for permanently uniting the rolls and cages of the bearing units with work table;

less manual handling of said rolls and cages than friction use than any of the machines at present well known.

Another object is to provide a, new and improved machine for assembling the rolls and cages of roller bearing units. and in which machine previously encountered faults and inefliciencies in operation and causes for low production and poor results have been obviated.

A further'object is to provide certain other new and useful features in the construction, ar-

rangement and combination of parts, all as here- Divided and this application April 29,

inafter more fully set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front end elevation of a machine illustrative of an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the left side of the machine;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the back of the machine;

Fig.4 is a plan view;

' Fig. 5 is a horizontal section substantially upon the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical section substantially upon the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and of adjacent parts above;

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of the cone setting mechanism shown in a different position than that shown at the left side portion of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail substantially upon the line a-s of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a portion of the rotary Fig. 10 is a section substantially upon the line l0l0 ofFig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a section substantially upon the line I l--l I of Fig. 6 with parts broken away and in 1 section to disclose more fully the construction;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the roll distributing head;

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of Fig. 12 with parts broken away and in section to show the construction;

Fig. 14 is a transverse section substantially upon the line "-44 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is an elevation of the right hand end of Fig. 13;

Flg.'16 is'a sectional perspective-detail illustrative of the operation of the roll feeding and positioning means;

Fig. 17 is a sectionaldetail showing a modified 2 form of .the roll feeding member;

Fig. 18 is across sectional detail of the adjustable stop and discharging means for the roll positioning means;

Fig. 19 is an enlarged transverse section through the feed hopper substantially upon the line |9|9 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 20 is a sectional detail substantially upon the line 20-20 of Fig. 19;

Fig. 21 is a section similar to that of Fig. 19

with parts shown in a different position to illustrate the operation;

Fig. 22 is a section similar to that of Fig. 6 and showing a modified construction adapting the machine to the assembling of bearing units each including rolls and a'cage adapted to be formed into position to hold the rolls in place within the 3 cage;

Fig. 23 is a plan view with portions broken away of the roll delivery means shown in section at the right 'hand end of Fig. 22;

Fig. 24 is an enlarged vertical section through the cage holder and cage forming plunger shown I at the left hand end portion of Fig. 22 and in a different relative position of operation;

Fig. 25 is a plan view of the lower part or j cage holder of Fig. 24;

Fig. 26 is a horizontal section substantially upon the line 2s- 2s of Fig. 22; and

Fig. 27 is a horizontal section substantially upon the line 21-41 of Fig. 24.

The present machine is designed for the rapid assembly of the parts of a roller bearing and more particularly a bearing employing tapered rolls. Such bearings usually consist of a series The machine may, however, be modified for the ipurpose of assembling bearing units comprising a series of rolls and an annular cage having gfingers formed integral therewith and adapted to be bent for loosely holding the rolls in place within the cage.

The bearing as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 comprises a series of tapered rolls l and a cage 2 iof annular form having an upstanding wall 3 Ipreferably formed of sheet metal with a series fof spaced apart openings 3a, therein, the width jof each opening being slightly less than the diameter o1 the roll to be received therein. The bearing also includes a conical, annular raceway member 4 having a properly inclined, intermediate portion upon which the rolls are adapted to jroll, the cone member being also formed with a rib at its lower end the outside diameter of which is slightly greater than the diameter of the space at the lower ends of the rolls within the page when the rolls are in position within the several openings in the wall of the cage, so that, when the cone member is forced endwise into the cage after the placing of the rolls in position therein, the lower or small ends of the rolls will be engaged by this rib and will be spread slightly, the cage springing sufficiently to permit the rib to pass the lower ends of the rolls so that the cone will snap into place and loosely hold the rolls in place within the cage, the result being that the rolls, cage and cone are held in properly assembled position. i

In the commercial manufacture of such roller bearings, it has been the common practice to insert the rolls into the openings in the cage by hand. This is a slow and tedious process, and it is proposed to do this work by means of a machine automatically operative to select the rolls and guide them into place within the several cages of a series of cages each of which is automatically positioned to receive its proper quota of rolls; and, where the bearing which is being assembled is a tapered roller bearing, the several rolls to be inserted in each cage are fed from a hopper or other supply of loose rolls and are positioned-with their ends of smallest diameter all directed in the same direction for properly positioning the rolls within each cage. The parts of each bearing are therefore automatically assembled, it being only necessary for the operator to place the pre-formed cages in the machine, one at a time, and also the cone or raceway members where complete bearings including such members are being assembled.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the machine embodying the present invention comprises a base 6 formed with a central hub I to receive a vertical stud 8 having a. head at its lower end by means of which the stud is secured e in any suitable manner within the hub I in an upstanding, fixed position. Laterally of the hub 1 the base is also formed with openings to receive vertical, fixed, supporting posts 8a for supporting the superstructure of the machine. Mounted for rotation upon the stud 8 is a turntable indicated as a whole by the numeral 9, and secured in any suitable manner to a downwardly extending hub III of this turn-table is a suitable pulley ll resting upon the upper end of the hub I to turn freely thereon, the turn-table being further supported by means of a central disk Ila secured to its upper side in any suitable manner with a ball bearing l2 interposed between this disk Ila and an annular shoulder formed on the stud 8.

The table 9 is formed with a plurality of openings adjacent its periphery each to receive a cage holder and each of which holders is indicated as a whole by the numeral l3.

Each cage holder l3 includes a tube I4 adapted to fit closely within one of the openings in the table 9 and within this tube is a head or plunger [5 having a stepped, conical, upper end portion l6 adapted to project upwardly through the open upper end of the tube I, it being normally held in this position by means of a coiled spring II' interposed between the member l5 and a closure l8 for the lower end of the tube, the member l5 .being formed with an annular rib at its lower end to engage a shoulder I9 within the tube to limit the upward movement of the plunger. The conical upper end of this plunger is formed to fit closely within the small end of the bearing cage 2, the cage fitting over the conical projection and seating upon a lower step 20 of this conical end,

flush with the upper end of the tube I4.

Anydesired number of these cage holders It may be provided upon the table 9 and arranged about the axis of the table to be brought by rotation of th table into position beneath roll feeding means hereinafter described, one at a time; and, while the operator is placing the cage upon one of the cage holders, an adjacent cage is being supplied with rolls, the table being turned by means of a friction band or ring 2| applied to the pulley II which is secured to the lower end of the hub 10 of the table 9. This friction band or member 2| is operated in timed relation to the operation of other parts of the machine by means of a plunger 22 movable within a cylinder 23 and having a stem 24 pivotally connected by a link 25 to an arm 26 extending laterally from the friction band 2|.

and as shown in Fig. 5 is a spring operated dog 21 adapted to engage the edge of the table 9 and to snap into notches 28 formed at suitable intervals in the edge of the table for properly locating the cage holders l3. Each of the notches 28 is formed with an abrupt shoulder at one side in the direction of the rotation of the table and an inclined shoulder at the opposite side so that the Pivotally attached to the .frame of the machine in any suitable manner dog 21 will firmly hold the table against backward rotation but will permit its forward rotation by the friction band 2| when said band is operated in one direction by means of the plunger 22, said band slipping in contact with said pulley when turned in the opposite direction, the table being held against backward rotation by said dog 21 engaging the abrupt shoulder of one of the notches.

To supply a plurality of rolls to each cage, a hopper 29 is provided to hold a supply of loose, pro-formed rolls, said hopper being provided with radially extending arms 30 to engage the upper reduced ends of the posts 8a, the hopper being thus rigidly and fixedly supported at the upper end of the machine. The lower side or bottom of this hopper is provided with a series of openings arranged concentrically about the axis of the hopper and projecting into each of these openings is a tubular plunger 3|, these tubular plungers being mounted within the outer ends of the radial arms of a spider 32 which is mounted for vertical sliding movement upon a central fixed shaft 33 the upper end of which is rigidly secured within an axial opening in the bottom of the hopper and extends downwardly therefrom with its lower end fixed within a fixed spider 34 having radial arms 35 corresponding in number to the arms of the spider 32.

Mounted in any suitable manner within the outer end of each of the arms 35 is a feed tube 36 adapted to slide within the vertical tubular plunger 3| of each of the arms of the movable I spider 32, and-this movable spider is moved vertically upon the shaft 33 by means of a fork 31 pivotally supported at 38 upon a bracket extending downwardly from the lower side of the hopper 29. A frame member 380. is rigidly supported upon the posts 8a intermediate their ends and upon this frame 38a is mounted a motor support 39 carrying an electric motor 40 from the shaft of which motor motion is transmitted in any suitable manner to a cross shaft 4| to one end of which is secured a cam for operating a crank arm 42 the upper end of which arm is pivotally connected to an extension arm 43 of the fork31. The movable spider 32 is therefore raised and lowered, sliding upon the shaft 33, by the operation of the electric motor, and ,this movable spider which carries several tubular plungers 3| will therefore move these plungers upwardly and downwardly, within the several openings in the bottom of the hopper. As these plungers 3| are tubular, and as the feed tubes 36 are also tubular and extend into these plungers, the loose rolls within the hopper 29 will feed into the upper open ends of the several tubular plungers3| and pass down into the feed tubes 36.

The quantity of loose rolls within the hopper is continually agitated by the up and down movements of the tubular plungers 3| so that the roll-s find their way into the open upper ends of the plungers; and, to increase the agitation of the rolls within the hopper and direct them into the upper ends of the plungers, an agitator blade 44 is secured at its lower end adjacent each plunger 3| to each arm of the movable spider 32. These blades extend longitudinally of and upwardly beyond the upper ends of these plungers into the bottom of the hopper through radial slots in said bottom. Therefore, as the several plungers are moved upwardly and are projected through the openings in the bottom of the hopper, the blades willalso be moved upwardly through their slots in the bottom of the hopper and come into contact with the supply of rolls within the hopper to agitate these rolls so that they will find their way into the upper open ends of the several plungers.

Mounted upon the reduced upper end of the central stud 8 rising from the base of the machine is a supporting frame 45, and rigidly mounted in any suitable manner upon the upper end of this frame 45 is a roll feeding and distributing head indicated as a whole by the numeral 46, said head comprising an upper block or bar 41 of extended length and a lower parallel block 48, the upper block 41 being formed with a series of curved conduits or passages 49 opening through the upper side of said block and equal in number to the number of feed tubes 36 which extend downwardly from the hopper 29. Secured in any suitable manner to the lowerend of each of the feed tubes 36 is a flexible conduit 50, these conduits being extended along the head 46 with each of their lower ends secured to a tubular plug 5| secured within a 'bore in the upper side of the block 41, and which bores form continuations of the upper ends of the curved passages 49 in said block 41. The rolls contained within each of the several feed tubes 36 are thus free to pass into the upper ends of the flexible conduits 50 and down these several conduits and be distributed along the head 46, passing into the upper ends of the several curved passages 49 in the upper block 41 of the head. In passing down each of these curved passages 49, the lowermost roll therein is directed by the curvature of the passage into a horizontal position at the lower end of the passage with the longitudinal axis of this roll extending horizontally and longitudinally of the block 41 adjacent the lower side of said block, where these rolls will then rest upon the upper surface of a horizontal supporting bar forming a shelf 52 which is mounted directly upon the upper side of the lower block. The lower end of each curved passage 49 opens into a transverse way or opening 53 in the upper block 41 andeach roll, as it passes down and out of the lower end of each of the curved passages 49, passes into one of these openings 53 and will lie therein, in' a horizontal position, upon the upper surface of the horizontally extending supporting bar or shelf 52 and within one of a pair of notches 54 formed in the lower side of a feed finger 55 which extends into and through said opening 53. There is one of these feed fingers 55 in each of the openings 53 and they are secured to a swinging feed bar 56 extending the full length of the block 41 at one side thereof and provided with a laterally extending pivot ear 5! at each end. Ears 51 are pivoted as at 58 to end plates 59 at the ends of the head 46 and to which plates or headers 59 the ends of the blocks 41 and 48 are secured in any suitable manner, as by screws passing through the plates and into the ends of the blocks. These fingers 55 are curved in the direction of their lengths concentrically with their pivotal support 58 and therefore are adapted to swing through the several openings 53 transversely of the block 41.

The feed bar 56 is swung in proper timed relat'on to the operation of other parts of the machine by means of a flexible arm 60 attached to the pivot 58 at one end of the feed bar, and to the outer end of this arm 69 is pivotally connected an operating rod 6| extending downwardly and being pivotally connected at its lower the notches 54 in one of the feed fingers 55.

Therefore, upon swinging movement of the feed 'bar 56 in either direction, each of the several rolls so positioned will be moved laterally from the supporting shelf 62, dropping out of the respective notch 54 and into the upper open end of one or the other of a pair of vertical slots 62 formed- 'in'the opposite sides of the lower block 46, which slots extend downwardly through the block andterminate at their lower ends in round bores into "which are secured tubular plugs 63, similar to the plugs 5| and into which plugs the upper ends of tubular, flexible conduits 64 are secured.

In assembling tapered roller bearings, itis essential that the several rolls be placed in each cage with'the tapers of all-rolls extending in the same direction. So, as the rolls are free toenter, the open upper ends of the feed tubes fl36 with either end up, it becomes necessary tor-reverse those rolls which pass down the conduits 56 with the wrong end up, and, to insure that all rolls will drop into their cages with their. ends of greatest diameter up, means are provided, immediately following the ejection of each, roll from either side of the shelf 52 by the operation of the feed fingers 55, for turning each roll from the horizontal position in which it drops from said shelf into a vertical position. To accomplish this change of position, each roll drops into a limited space at the upper end'of each slot 62 between the edge of shelf 52 and an opposed, movable limit bar 65, which space is limited by said bar to a width less than the diameter of the large end of each roll. Therefore, each roll will be engaged at opposite sides adjacent its large end only and suspended between the straight edge of the shelf and straight side of the bar to swing by gravity upon its points of permit the projecting inner side of each limit bar to approach the outer edge of the shelf 52, leaving a space therebetween to receive the rolls. The limit bars are so adjusted that the distance betweenthe inner side of each and the opposed edge of the shelf will be just slightly less than the extreme diameter of the large end of the. roll when the limit bar is swung toward said edge to the'limit of this movement; asdetermined by adjustable stop screws 68 passing through screwthreaded openings in each bar 66 adjacent its ends and near its upper side. Each stop screw-68 has a head 69 the periphery of which is engaged within a notch in the lower side of the limit bar 65, and said bar is attached to its supporting bar 66 by screws Ill passing through elongated openings in said limit bar, so

that, as saidstop screws are screwed inwardly in-,

to contact with the block 48, the bar 66 will be swung outwardly and at the same time the limit bar willbe moved by said screws toward said block and the edge of-said shelf 62, thus providing a differential adjustment for said limit bar' to give a very accurate adjustment of the width of the space between the edge of said shelf and opposed edge of said limit bar so that the rolls dropping into said space will be caught adjacent their large end and suspended thereby, thereupon being free to swing within the flared upper end portions of the slots 62 to a vertical position and pass down said slots, when released, into the several conduits 64.

To swing the bars 66 and limit bars 65 carried thereby, at the proper time to release the rolls caught between said limit bars and the shelf 52, an arm H is secured to one of the pivot studs 56 for the swinging feed bar 56. This stud projects through its bearing opening in the end plate 59 at the end of the head 46 opposite that at which the other stud 58 is located and to which latter stud the operating arm 66 for swinging the feed bar 56 is attached. Arm II extends downwardly between a pair of adjustable stop screws 12 mounted upon end plate 59 to limit the swinging of feed bar 56 in both directions, the lower end of this arm H being engaged by a fork 13 which is pivoted at 14 to said end plate 59 and has a lower end portion to swing between the upper free ends of a pair of arms I5 each of which is rigidly secured to the projecting end of one of the pivot studs 61 for each of the bars 66 upon which the limit bars 65 are mounted. The free end of each arm 15 is provided with an'adjustable abutment screw 16 to engage the lower end of the fork 13 to adjust the swing of the bars 66, and the arms 15 are yieldingly urged toward each other by a coiled spring TI connecting said arms to hold one of said screws in contact with said fork, the bar 66 to which the other arm is connected being swung toward the adjacent edge of the shelf 52 with its limit or'stop screws 68 in contact with the block 48. The bars 66 are therefore alternately swung in timed relation to-the swinging of the feed bar 66 and to the operation of the fingers 65 in ejecting a roll from one edge and then the other of the shelf 62. a

In order, that the operator of the machine may observe whether or not a roll has been fed to and is suspended in the upper end of each slot 62 just prior to releaseof the rolls, an opening 16 extending nearly the full length of each of the bars 66 is'provided therein, and each opening is closed by a suitable transparent member 19. Therefore, if he should find a roll to be missing from one of these slots 62, he can swing the feed bar 56 by means of a handle 66 on the arm .H and thus manually feed a roll into that slot.

There is one conduit 56 leading from the hopper 26 to the upper end of each curved passage 46 in the upper'part of the head 46 and each of these conduits and passages is kept filled with rolls so that each feed finger 55 swinging through each opening 53 which forms'the lower end of each passage may receive a roll in each of its notches. When swung, these fingers will alternately deliver rolls into the spaces between the limit bars 65 and edges of shelf 52, first at one side of said shelf and then at the other to supply rolls to both sets of conduits 64, one set leading from the lower ends of the slots or passages 62 in one side of the lower block 48 of the distributing head and the other set leading from the slots at the opposite side of said head. These conduits 94 are together equal in number to the number of rolls to be placed in any one of the cages 2 positioned upon the table I with one cage directly below a fixed delivery head indicated as a whole by the numeral 9| and mounted within a forked end of an arm 92 projecting from the frame 49.

This delivery head 9| is of circular form in plan view and comprises an upper disk 83 fitted within the forked end of the arm 92 and secured therein, a lower disk 94 and a recess between said disks within which is a rotatable disk 99 mounted upon an axial stud 99 on said lower disk, all as shown in Fig. 6. These three disks have alignable openings arranged concentrically about the axes of the disks, said openings in the several disks together forming passages through the head when aligned, each passage forming a continuation of one of the conduits 94 the lower ends of which conduits are secured within the upper ends 1 of the openings in the upper disk. The turn table 9 is rotatable with its peripheral portion below the horizontal plane of delivery head 9I to bring the cage holders II and cages 2 carried thereby, one at a time, into position directly below said head II and into such position that the rolls I dropping from the several openings in the lower disk 94 will drop into their proper places in the cage. These passages for the rolls formed by these aligned openings in the disks of the head are inclined downwardly in convergent relation so that the rolls will be inclined outwardly as they drop into the cage and will therefore fall outwardly into the openings in in the upstanding wall of the cage.

The conduits 94 are preferably kept substantially filled with rolls so that they will feed down the conduits by gravity, and, to control the discharge of these rolls into the cage, the intermediate disk 99 serves as a valve and is provided with a forwardly projecting handle 91 by means of which it may be turned by hand against the action of a spring 99 which normally holds said disk turned "with its openings out of alignment with the openings in the other disks and prevents the feeding of rolls into the cage until such time as the cage is properly positioned and the operator turns the valvular disk to release a set of rolls. The feeding of rolls into the cage is thus controlled independently'of the operation of the machine and the operator may see that each cage is filled and the rolls properly positioned therein before the table is turned to the next station.

In operation, the operator will place a cage 2 over the conical end I9 of the plunger II of the cage holder I9 next preceding in the direction of rotation of the table 9 the holder which is directly beneath the delivery head 9|. To insure proper positioning of the openings 9a in the wall 9 of this cage relative to the discharge openings in the disk 94, a locating dog 99 is pivotally mounted opposite each cage holder I9 within a notch in the edge of a flange of the cage holder at the upper side of the table 9. Each of these dogs has an upstanding free end adapted to enter one of the openings 3a in the wall of the cage as the cage is placed upon saidv holder, each dog also having a tail portion extending radially inward of said table and beneath a flanged cam ring 99 secured to the lower end of the supporting hub 9| of the frame 49. The lower edge of this ring 99 is formed with a cam notch 92 into which thetail ends of the dogs 99 succesthe raceway and rolls in the cage and completing sively ride as they are carried around by the station where each cage is placed upon its holder so as to permit each of the dogs to tilt about its pivot under the force of a spring operated plunger 93 acting beneath the tail of each dog and to permit the head end of the dog thus tilted 'to enter one of the openings 9a in the cage just placed. Further turning of the table to position the cage beneath the head 9| will move the tilted dog out of contact with the cam'notch and cause said dog to be withdrawn from said opening in the cage to permit a roll to drop into place therein when the rolls are released from said I head.

When a bearing including the conical raceway;

upper step of the conical upper end It of the plunger I9, as shown at the left in Fig. 6. The table is then turned to bring the cage and raceway beneath a head 94a on the lower end of a piston rod 94 which lower end is guided by and secured to abridge bar slidable upon the vertical posts 9a. The lower end of the rod 6| is pivotally attached to the bridge 95 for transmitting motion from said bridge to operate the arm 99 and swing the feed bar 56 for feeding the rollers from the lower ends of the passages 49 in the distributor head 49. The upperend of piston rod 94 is secured to a piston 99 within a cylinder 91 (see Figs. 2 and 3) secured to the lower side of the frame member 39a so that, upon the admission of compressed air or other fluid into I4 against the action of the spring I1 and said raceway being thus forced into the cage 2 which seats at its lower end within a groove in the upper end of said tube as said plunger moves downward. The raceway is thus forced endwise into its cage, its annular outstanding rib on its lower end being forced past the rolls in said cage to engage beneath their lower ends, thus locking the assembly of the bearing unit.

Upon completion of the bearing assembly and upstroke of the piston rod 94, the assembled unit will be lifted clear of the table 9 by the upward projection of the plunger I9 due to the spring I! so that the operator may conveniently remove the asembled unit from the machine. The opera tions of turning the table 9 and operating piston 99 are conveniently controlled by providing a suitable source of fluid under pressure (not shown) from which source a pipe 99 leads to a suitable two way valve I99 (Fig. 2) which controls and alternates the flow to the branch pipes 99 and also to pipes I9I leading to cylinder 29 having therein the piston 22 which operates the friction band 2| for turning said table 9. This valve I99 is operated by a rod I92 leading to a foot pedal I93 beneath which is a spring I94 for returning the pedal and valve to normal position.

Where the machine is to be used in assembling bearing units consisting of a series of tapered rolls and a cage to hold the rolls without the use of a cone member, the cage being provided with means for holding the rolls in place, parts of the machine may be modified as shown in Figs. 22 to I f 27 inclusive. In thiscasea cage'which isindi- 3 cated as a whole by the numeral I05 in Fig. 24 I 1 comprises an upstanding wall I06 provided with a I 1 series of openings I08a to receive the rolls, the 1 cage being formed from sheet metal with the lower end of the cage wall provided with inte ral 1 fingers I01. These fingers extend upwardly and inwardly from the lower end portion of the wall between the openings I06a, and the upper end of 1 each finger is reduced in width and bent out-' 1 wardly, forming a lug I08 to engage the wall of the cage between said openings when the fingers 5 have been bent outwardly after the insertion of the rolls to hold the rolls in place within the cage. 1 In the assembled unit, the rolls must have play j within the cage, that is, they must not frictionally engage the edges of the openings in the cage 5 wall and the fingers for holding the rolls in place 1 must not frictionally engage the rolls, as, otherwise, the free rotation of the rolls would be re- Q tarded. Therefore, after the rolls are fed from the hopper and are distributed and turned with 1 their small ends all directed in the same direcj tion as previously described, they are dropped or 3 fed' directly into the cage by modified means head, so that, when released: the rolls will drop directly into these openings 1 I06a between said j fingers. The plunger II1is supported within a bore in the block I I5 by means ofa spring I19, so that this plunger may move downwardly pressure applied to the cage.

After the rolls have been fed into the cage, the

table 9 is indexed around and the cage is brought to position beneath a head I20"secured to'the lower end of the piston rod 04. To; the lower side of this head is .secured a disk I2I, this disk having a recess in its lower side to receive a plunger head I22 having a downwardly extending, cylindrical end portion I22a formed with a conical lower end. Secured 'to the peripheral portion of the base of the plunger head I22 is a guide sleeve I23 within which is guideda ring member I24 sleeved upon thecylindrical part I 22a, and there is a spring I25interposed between the base of the plunger head and-an outstanding flange at the lower end of said ring member for normally holding said member pressed downwardly to the limit ofits movement as determined by said guide sleeve. The lower end oi.

shown in'Fig. 22 and the cage is then carried around by the table 9 to'suitable means provided for bending the fingers of the cage outwardly to 1 hold the series of rolls loosely in place.

As shown in Fig. 22, the hub SI of the frame is provided with a forwardly extending arm I00 similar to the arm 82, and this arm also has a forked end to receive a circular delivery head comprising a disk member IIO which is provided with an annular row of openingsinto the upper ends of which the flexible conduits 64 are secured and through which the rolls are fed by gravity.

A ring member III is rigidly secured to the lower side of the disk H0 and provides a recess within which a valve disk I I2 is mounted, this valve disk being formed with a series of openings adapted to register with the openings in the disk'IIO and also adapted to be turned by means of a handle II3 to bring about 'such registry. This valve disk is normally turned by means of a spring I a to position the openings in the valve disk out of alignment with the openings in the disk I10.

Therefore, the rolls which are fed by gravity down the conduit 64' pass into the openings in the disk H0 and are normally prevented from passing on down by the valve disk H2. The

. operator of the machine may control the feeding I l of the rolls, for, when a cage is in proper position below the delivery head, he may operate the valve disk I I2 and release a series of rolls which will drop directly into place within the cage.

The cage seats closely within a conical recess H6 in the upper side of a block' or holder II5 which block is rigidly mounted within an opening in the table 9 adjacent its periphery, there being a plurality of these cage holders arranged within openings in the table in a manner similar to the arrangement of the cage holders I3 which have been previously described, and the conical wall of the recess H6 is formed with shallow grooves l IBa to'receive the outer sides of the rolls. This recess H6 is of a conical form and has a diameter substantially the same as the external diameter of the cage, so that the upstanding wall of the cage fits into this recess and is supported therein by a plunger II1 having a series of lugs I I8 projecting upwardly between the fingers I01 of the cage for properly locating the cage openings I06a relative to the openings in the delivery this ring memberlI24 is formed with a series of downwardly extending, rigid fingers I26 which are formed with inclined outer sides. adapted to engage the inner sides of the several rolls, so that, upon downward movement of these fingers and their projection into the cage, they will come into contact with the inner sides of. the rolls and force the rolls outwardly into the grooves II6a, the cage wall seating against the inclined wall of the recess H6 in the block between the rolls. These several rigid fingers I28 slide within the grooves I21 in the downwardly projectingicylindrical portion I22a of the plunger head I22; and longitudinal ribs I28 formed on said portion I22a between these grooves I21 are brought by the downward movement of the head into engagement with the tongues or fingers, I01 on the cage to bend these fingers outwardly between the rolls and bring 'the. bent end portions I08 of these fingers into contact with the upstanding wall I06 oi the cage. The seating of the 'rolls in the grooves I I6a limits the outward movement of the rolls through the openings in the 'cage wall, and the ends I08 of the fingers 101 coming into contact with said wall limit the positions of the fingers relative to said rolls sothat the proper clearance between rolls and cage is insured. The seating of the cage wall against the inclined wall of the recess I IB-between said rolls prevents distortion of the cage under the force applied by the fingers I26 in bending the fingers I01 outwardly.

The supporting or lower plunger II1 has a head at its upper end upon which the cage is seated, and sleeved upon a stem I29 of this plunger within the lower endof the bore therefor in the block or holder I I5 is the coiled spring II8 which normally acts tb hold the plunger raised to space;its head from the conical surface of the recess H6 and permit the free insertion of the cage; This spring will be comunder not be brought with too great a force into contact with the rolls.

It may be found desirable to modify the roll feeding mechanism so that it may feed a lesser number of rolls into each cage, as, for instance, where a lesser number of rolls with greater interspacing. is used. To do this, the feeding of the rolls by one or more of the fingers 55 at one side of the head 46 is prevented by closing one of the between a plurality of rollers, a pair of concentrically arranged members movable toward and away from said support, one member of said pair having a plurality of annularly spaced, axially extending finger portions cooperable with the cage fingers for deforming the latter, and the other member of said pair also having a plurality of annularly spaced, axially extending finger portions cooperable with the rollers for holding the rollers in place in the cage openings during such cage finger deformation.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a support for supporting a cage having a plurality of annularly spaced fingers deformable for retaining in openings formed in the cage therebetween a plurality of rollers, a pair of concentrically arranged members movable toward and away from said support, one member of said pair having a plurality of annularly spaced, radially outwardly projecting, axially extending finger portions cooperable with the cage fingers for deforming the latter, and the other member of said pair having a plurality of annularly spaced, radially inwardly projecting, axially extending finger portions disposed between said first-mentioned finger portions and cooperable with the rollers for holding the rollers in place in the cage openings during such cage finger deformation.

3. In an apparatus of the character described,

- i I a support for supporting a cage having a plurality of annularly spaced fingers deformable for retaining in openings formed in the cage therebetween a plurality of rollers, said support being formed with a plurality of annularly spaced roller seats in alignment with the normal, positions of the cage openings, a pair of concentrically arranged members movable toward and away form said support, one member of said pair being formed with a plurality of annularly spaced, axially extending finger portions cooperable with the cage fingers for deforming the latter, and the other member of said pair being formed with a plurality of annularly spaced, axially extending finger portions between said first mentioned finger portions and cooperable with the rollers for holding the latter in said seats during such cage finger deformation.

4. A machine for the purpose described including, a cage holder for holding a bearing cage having an annular wall provided with openings and inwardly projecting fingers between the openings adapted to be bent outwardly between rolls mounted in the openings to hold the rolls in place within the cage, said cage holder including a yieldably supported plunger formed with upwardly extending fingers adapted to reside between the fingers on the cage, a movable plunger head provided with a series of longitudinal grooves, and a ring member slidable upon said head and formed with downwardly extending fingers movable within said grooves, said last mentioned fingers being adapted to engage the rolls and the portions of said head between said grooves being adapted to engage the several inwardly projecting fingers on the cage and bend the latter fingers outwardly.

5. A machine as characterized in claim 4, and wherein a spring is provided yieldably for holding said ring member in projected position and adapting the latter to yield in the direction of the length of said plun er head when said fingers thereof are brought into contact with the rolls so as to permit the lower end of said plunger head to engage and move said plunger of said cage holder to disengage said upwardly extending fingers thereof from the cage supported by said cage holder.

HERMAN A. ORTEGREN. I CHARLES C. HOWENS'I'INE. 

